TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has given Adamu Adamu, minister of education, two weeks to resolve issues of contention regarding the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The president gave the directive on Tuesday at a meeting with the minister and other stakeholders.

ASUU has been on strike since February 14 over the federal government’s failure to honour an agreement on issues bordering on funding of universities, as well as salaries and allowances of lecturers.

According to sources at the meeting on Tuesday, the minister is expected to report back to Buhari on the development in two weeks.

The president, who received briefing from relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on Tuesday, also reportedly directed that Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, must be present at all the meetings involving the federal government and the union.

The education minister is also expected to address issues raised by other unions such as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), is also expected to be involved in discussions with ASUU and other unions currently on strike.

Present at the meeting were Adamu; Ngige, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance; Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy; Folashade Yemi-Esan, head of the civil service of the federation; Ekpo Nta, chair of the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission; and Ben Akabueze, director-general, budget office.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said it would embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 over the ongoing strike.

Also, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) has threatened to shut down airports over the ASUU strike.